Explosive cartridge and method of making the same



3 5 1 5, t N 4 l, l f 2 A f.. ../1 s Q r. f l z e l l v v 4 m .n l riffl f I, f f T s 6 2 N EXPLOSIVE CARTRIDGE AND METHOD OF MAKI March 23,1937.

March 23,1937. D. B. MCCLOUD 2,074,553

EXPLOSIVE CARTRIDGE AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Filed June 9, 1954zsheets-sheet 2 V @fifa/*22% f N T EXPLOSIVE CARTRIDGE ANI!) METHOD 0MAKING THE SAME Don B.McCloud, Carbondale, Ill. Application June 9,l1934, Serial No. '129,740 svclaims. (c1. 1oz-s) My invention relates toimprovements inliquid of 61A; inches diameter are drilled, the liquidoxyoxygen explosive cartridges and method of makgen explosive cartridgeswith which such holes ing the same, and my main objects are to proareloaded have a normal, true diameter of only vide a device of thecharacter described which 4.7 inches. .When such cartridges become flatiwill have considerably greater explosive force tened or otherwisedistorted in handling so that than previous like cartridges, increasethe quantheir respective cross sections are elliptical rathtity ofexplosive that can be loaded in a blast er than circular in shape, thedifference between hole of given diameter and at the same time theirnormal diameter and the diameter of the decrease the hazard that attendsthe use of liquid blast holes is usually suicient to provide enough Iioxygen explosive. clearance to allow such distorted cartridges to be 1oLiquid oxygen explosive is made by saturating loaded without sticking orlodging. carbonaceous materials with liquid oxygen. 'Ihe My inventionrelates to a cartridge that will -first cartridges used were merelycloth bags of .maintain a true cylindrical shape without distubularshape lled with carbonaceous materials tortion and due. to thischaracteristic, cartridges l5 such as lampblacks, carbon blacks, sawdustand of this type having a diameter of 5.7 inches can l5 the like whichupon saturation with liquid oxybe loaded in 61A; inches diameter blastholes withgen, absorbed enough o'f the latter to render the out danger.of such cartridges becoming stuck or mixture highly explosive. Blastingin open pit lodged. This greatly increases the quantity of mines andquarries is accomplished by inserting explosive that can be loadedwithout hazard in 0 saturated cartridges in previously drilled blastsuch a blast hole of given length in comparison 0 0 holes after whichthe cartridgesl are detonated to past practices which in turn makes itpossible by means of blasting caps. to space blast holes farther apartthan has ever (The principal hazard in connection with the been donesuccessfully heretofore because the inuse or liquid oxygen explosiveVoccurs when 'a crease in the quantity of explosive makes aprocartridgebecomes stuck or lodged in a blast hole portionate increasein the quantity of rock that 25 during a loading operation. In open pitmining can be shattered. properlyv by each blast hole. 4it is commonpractice to drill blast holes to a This results in a considerablereduction in drilldepth of forty to sixty feet. The explosive charge ingcosts, an exceedingly important item in most must be-placed at theextreme ends of such blast open pit mining operations. zo, holes inorder to obtain maximum results from In order to procure complete andquick satura- 3o the blast. The original cartridges which were tion inthe past it has been considered necessary merely cloth bags lled withcarbonaceous mato perforate or to provide openings of some sort terials,often became soft and flabby upon satuin all sheaths or liners used togive structural ration with liquid oxygen and in consequence y strengthcr insulating qualities to liquid oxygen l5 were easily distorted tosuch an extent that while' explosive cartridges. My present invention is35 l being loaded they would lodge or stick in blast entirely differentfrom such devices used in the holes before reaching their properposition in the past in that no perforations, slots or other likeextreme ends of such holes. Practically all the openings are provided inthe cylindrical portion. fatalV accidents involving liquid oxygenexplosive of the cartridge. Such openings have reduced i0 have occurredwhile attempts were'being made 4the effectiveness of protecting sheathsin two 40 to dislodge forcibly a -cartridge that had become ways,namely, one, by reducing the strength of lodged or stuck in this manner.the sheath and thereby causing the sheath to Someinventors have tried toovercome this crack or to collapse, which occurs frequently dimculty bythe use of perforated or slotted linwith saturated cartridges ofprevious types, and i5 ers or sheaths in the construction of cartridgestwo, by providing openings through which evap- 45 but while thesedevices have constituted an imoration of liquid may take place. .Insofaras satprovement over the loriginal plain, unprotected uration of thecartridge with liquid oxygen is cartridges, -no sheath or liner usedheretofore concerned, I have eliminated the necessity of has been ofsuch character that it would mainperforations or other openings in thesheath byi0 tain the cartridge in true cylindrical shape. As using incombination with my imperforate 50 a result, `it is now standardpractice to sacrice sheath, certain carbonaceous materialshereinblasting efciency by making a considerable alafter described whichdo not require liquid penelowan'ce for cartridge distortion in selectingthe tration throughout the cylindrical part or the sizeof cartridges tobe used in blast vholes of a cartridge in order to insure propersaturation. 55- given diameter. For example. where blast holes Mypresent invention eliminates many of the 55 difficulties heretoforeexperienced withv liquid oxygen explosives by employing an imperforatesheath in combination with carbonaceous filling materials of the typehereinafter specified. I secure a high degree of saturation in a mannernever before employed in any liquid oxygen explosive cartridge, namely,by having the liquid oxygen ascend throughout the entire length of thecylindrical portion of the cartridge by capillary attraction and thedisplacement of occluded gases in the carbonaceous materials employed.The high degree of saturation will be maintained for a greater length oftime because of the imperforate sheath. I eliminate the greatest hazardin connection with the use of explosives of this type by constructionthat insures a true cylindrical shape of the cartridge at all timesthereby avoiding the sort of distortion that occurs when other types ofcartridges are packed tightly in soaking boxes or otherwise subjected topressures that occur in handling, which distortion is often suiiicientto cause a cartridge to stick or lodge in a vdrill hole. At the sametime. my invention makes it practical to greatly increase the quantityof explosive that can be loadedsafely in a blast hole of ordinarydiameter.

My invention may be best understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of one of my liquid oxygen explosivecartridges.

Figure 2 is a sectional View taken substantially on the line 2-2 ofFigure l.

'Figure 3 is a longitudinal detail view of the cartridge shown in Figure1 with parts of the outer protecting covering broken away so as toillustrate the sub-protecting sheath;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form ofcartridge;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5 ofFigure 4; and

Figure 6 is a detail view of the sub-protecting sheath employed in themodified form of cartridge shown in -Figure 4 and illustrates the methodof manufacture of the sub-protecting sheath.

Referring now to Figure l, the cartridge of my invention comprises anouter sheath like covering Ill made preferably of osnaburg, duck,canvas, or other material having characteristics similar to thematerials mentioned. 'I'he covering is preferably cylindrical for mostof its length but has one end formed into a conical hollow portion IIfor the purpose of serving as a guide for the cartridge and for otherpurposes laterto be disclosed. Within the covering I0 is arranged animperforate casing member I4 preferably formed into a cylindricalformation and having opposite open ends I5. The casing IB and cover I@are made of such dimensions so that the casing I4 will t Within thecovering I0 rather snugly and the casing I4 is inserted into cov-- eringIt until rone end of the casing is positioned adjacent the base of theconical end II. The

longitudinal dimension of casing I4 is considerably less than thelongitudinal cylindrical dimension of covering I0 and thus permits theend of covering I opposite the conical end IIA to be brought together incollapsed formation as shown at I2. The end I2 may be maintained inposition and the desired closed condition by twisted wire ties I3 afterthe casing I4 and conical end I I have been lled with carbonaceousmaterial later to be described.

Preferably, the casing I4 is made of a' nonferrous metal, such ascopper, and is formed of twenty-two gauge material. The wire ties I3 arelikewise formed of non-ferrous metal, such as coppen Copper is employedfor the above purpose because it will not emit sparks when struck by aprojection. or loading tool; the use of a ferrous metal might causepremature explosion of the cartridge in case sparks were emitted.

After the casingv I4 isplaced within covering In, the interior of thelcasing and the interior of the conical end II are lled with acarbonaceous material, preferably lamp black of colloidal neness I6, oracetylene black of like iineness. It is not essential to employunadultered material of the character described to ll'the entire space,but a satisfactory cartridge may be made by mixing small quantities ofrelatively more granular carbonaceous materials with the lamp blacks andacetylene blacks described. Since these blacks are extremely light andfluffy, a cartridge 20 -inches long and 5inches in diameter isrelatively light and may be handled with ease even after saturation withliquid' oxygen has been accomplished. I have found that it is desirableto pack or compress the blacks within the connes of the covering andcasing to such an extent that one ounce of black of colloidal iinenesscomprises cubic space of approximately 71% inches. After the filling andpacking operation has been completed and the black extends to the end ofcasing I4 adjacent the open end of the covering I0, the

end I2 of casing I4 may be drawn together as above described and boundby the wire ties I3.

Referring now to Figure 4, a modified type of cartridge is shown andcomprises mainly a covering II formed of material similar to thematerial of covering I0, heretofore described,y and having a similarconical end I8 and end I9 similar to open end I2 of theform shown inFigure 1, which may be closed and bound by. Wire ties 20 which aresimilar to wire ties I3 and formed of a similar material. An imperforatecasing 2 I vpreferably of cylindrical formation, is received within 'thecovering I'I and adapted to extend from the the ' lower or interiorlayer 23 is wound a strip or layer erable shocks and stresses withoutappltiableA 24. Strip 24 is likewise helically wound and is adapted tooverlap the meeting edges of the strip 23, but the edges ofthe strip 24are preferably arranged in abutting relation throughout its hellcalcourse. An outer layer or strip 25 is wound in a helical formationaround the layer 24 and adapted to overlap the meeting edgesof Athestrip 24 throughout its helical course. The va rlous layers may besecured together by various kikinds of mucilaginous material and thelcasing thus formed is capable of withstanding considdeformation. y

Casing 2l and conical-end I8 of covering I1 are then lled with lampblack of colloidal neness 26 or acetylene black of like ineness in amanner similar to the filling and packingl of the ma.- terial I6inrcasing I4 and conical end II. The end I9 is closed and bound in placeby the copper wire tie 2G, heretofore described.

The cartridge is now ready for the saturatlng operation and thesubsequent operations are-carried on in identically the same manner,regardless of Whether the cartridge .shown in Figure .1

or that shown in Figure 4 is employed. 'I'he cartridge is placed 4in aheat insulated tank with the conical end of the cartridge extendingtoward the base of the tank preferably the gathered end of the bagserving as a handle by means of 'which the cartridge may be grasped.Liquid oxygen is then poured into the tank in sufliclent quantities sothat the conical end is entirely submerged at all times during thesaturation period./ Since the temperature of the liquid oxygen isapproximately 1 82 degrees below zero Fahrenheit it causes a shrinkageof the occluded gases contained in y the lamp black or acetylene blackand as these occluded gases contract, the liquid oxygen is drawn intothe interior of the casing in a manner similar to that in which airrushes into a broken vacuum. As the liquid oxygen is adsorbed by thelamp black or acetylene black employed, it successively cools theoccluded gases occurring in the upper portions of the black employed andsuccessively the liquid oxygen is adsorbed until the entire mass ofblack is saturated. in eective explosive is formed if the carbonaceousmaterial bears a relation of i. to 2.6 by weight of liquid oxygen, butsince evaporation of liquid oxygen is -veryrapid it is alwaysadvisable,v if possible, to

achieve a degree of' saturation in which the carbonaceous materialwillbear a re ation of 1. to 3. or more, to the liquid oxygen b `weight.lI'his surplusof liquid oxygen maintains the eiectivef ness of thecartridge during the necessary loading time, which ordinarily should notconsume more than thirty to forty ve minutes.

It can be seenv that the imperforate inner casing presents la structuralcovering having much greater resistance .toV deformation than a casingof similar material with slots-or various mnds of perforations therein.Likewise, the imperforate casing`prevents' evaporation of liquid oxygento a great extent and keeps the cartridge in an effectively saturatedcondition for a longer period of time. `Because of this factor thesphere of iusefulness of liquid oxygen Iexplosive is consider,-

ably broadened The employment of carbonaceous materials of l, colloidalneness andparticularly, lamp blacks and acetylene blacks in a cartridgethatV` will maintain a true cylindrical shape at al1 times,

furnishes a cartridge of a degree of effectiveness heretofore unknown inthe liquid oxygen explosive art. This degree of effectiveness isattained without a sacrifice of safety because of the additionalstrength and rigidity of the protecting' casing employed beneath theouter covering.'- The'increase in eectiveness likewise broadens thefield of usefulness of liquid oxygen explosive and makes it possible forthe many admitted advantages'of this type of explosive to be utilizedfor other Similar purposes.

An imperforate sheath of non-ferrous or nonmetallic material may beemployed in piace of the preformed tubular casing herein described and asmall overlap of edges of the material would provide a completecylindrical protecting covering for the incased carbonaceous material.The other steps in making the cartridges would be identical.

While I have shown and described my preferred form of construction andhave disclosed my preferred materials and method of manufacture, I donot wish to be limited toI the details herein shown and described butWish to avail myself of all variations of structure. materials andmethod coming within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as' new and desire tosecure by Letters filled, said carbonaceous material adapted to ,be

saturated with liquid oxygen through said extruded end.

2. A liquid oxygen cartridge comprising any open end casing of liquidoxygen impervious material, a ller of carbonaceous material of colloidal-neness in said casing and extending out beyond one end thereof, acloth`covering for said casing and carbonaceous material, and closuremeans for said casing and covering at one end, said cartridge adapted tobe saturated with liquid oxygen at the opposite end.

3. A liquid oxygen cartridge comprising an open end casing of materialimpervious to liquid oxygen, a iller of carbonaceous material in saidcasing, a textile envelope adapted to secure a quantity of saidcarbonaceous material therein beyond anend of said casing, and means toclose said envelope after same has been lled, said envelope adapted forsaturation of carbonaceous material with liquid oxygen through saidextended end portion after said lling. v DON n iviccnomi.v

